How Manhattan Became a Rich Ghost Town

Re:How Manhattan Became a Rich Ghost Town by jannotti on Thursday October 18, 2018 @10:25AM (#18248553)

I thought the problem was almost the opposite of what the article discussed. I thought that commercial real estate almost always used long term leases and that owners are reluctant to sign them in a fast rising market. If your building is vacant, there is the possibility of selling to a developer with plans for a big development in the short term.

That would argue for being pretty happy about short-term leases, since they maintain that flexibility. But I don't really know much about this, I'd like to understand it better.

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Re:How Manhattan Became a Rich Ghost Town by JamesBarney on Thursday October 18, 2018 @03:57PM (#18251601)

It's hard to do short term commerical leases.

One the build out costs lots of money and if the owner doesn't renew you've lost $60,000.

Two if you end up with a successful coffee shop/bar/etc the owner can squeeze you out of every dime of profit because it's disastrous to most of these establishments to move.

It means that there's just not a lot of demand for short term commerical leases. Exceptions are seasonal stores like a Halloween or Christmas store who are happy to sign a short term lease, usually at a discount.

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Re:How Manhattan Became a Rich Ghost Town by wgerard on Thursday October 18, 2018 @12:55PM (#18249955)

> in a fast rising market

Everything I've read about New York real estate has suggested that it's slowing down considerably and pretty buyer-friendly right now.

Granted that's mostly about residential real estate, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's the same with commercial as well, and would certainly explain the reluctance to sign short-term leases.

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